Part of me thinks Vlad's current mental funk is the result of a string of s*** luck. As stupid as that sounds.
It seems like a lot of the times this year when he goes to the plate with a patient approach the pitcher just happens to paint two perfect sliders on the lower outside corner that clip the zone, or get a call when the ball is just outside.
I think that has happened enough this year to just completely f*** him up to be honest. Now he's lost.
This is purely anecdotal of course.
It's like he is there at the plate some of the time EXPECTING to have to make contact with a perfect, pitcher's pitch of a slider. This makes him swing at a whole bunch of garbage stuff off the plate and it also contorts him against meatballs and pitches on the inner half.